Background & Aims of the Study: Ozone is a summer pollutant which can cause respiratory complications, eye burning sensation and failure of immune defense against infectious diseases. Ahvaz city (southwestern Iran) is one of the seven polluted Iranian metropolises. In this study we examined the health impacts of ozone pollution in Ahvaz city during years 2010 and 2011. Ma...

Smoking causes disease through oxidative stress, which accelerates aging. Recently, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emblematic of tobacco-related diseases, has come to be viewed as a systemic inflammatory disease. COPD is regarded as contributory to cardiovascular events stemming from vascular inflammation. As an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, COPD in combinat...

BACKGROUND Parameters of cardiopulmonary exercise testing were recently identified as strong predictors of mortality in adults with congenital heart disease. We hypothesized that combinations of cardiopulmonary exercise testing parameters may provide optimal prognostic information on midterm survival in this population. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 1375 consecutive adult patients with conge...

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs commonly in the U.S. population and is seen in both obese as well as non-obese individuals. OSA is a disease characterized by periodic upper airway collapse during sleep, which then results in either apnea, hypopnea, or both. The disorder leads to a variety of medical complications. Neuropsychiatric complications include daytime somnolence, cognitive dysfunc...

Background—Parameters of cardiopulmonary exercise testing were recently identified as strong predictors of mortality in adults with congenital heart disease. We hypothesized that combinations of cardiopulmonary exercise testing parameters may provide optimal prognostic information on midterm survival in this population. Methods and Results—A total of 1375 consecutive adult patients with congeni...

OBJECTIVE Cardiopulmonary exercise testing is a tool that helps clinicians to establish diagnosis and calculate risk stratification in adults. However, the utility of this test among children with congenital heart disease has not been fully explored. The goal of this study was to describe reference values for cardiopulmonary performance of healthy children. METHODS This study included 103 app...

AIMS We hypothesized that first-time submassive pulmonary embolism (PE) can cause persistent, significant cardiopulmonary problems, including right ventricular damage and worsened quality of life in patients with no prior cardiopulmonary disease. METHODS AND RESULTS We prospectively enrolled 205 patients without end-stage comorbidity diagnosed with submassive PE (systolic blood pressure alway...

To investigate the potential contribution of cardiopulmonary reflexes in myocardial ischemia, the coronary vascular response to cardiopulmonary baroreceptor unloading and the number and the duration of spontaneous episodes of symptomatic and asymptomatic myocardial ischemia were evaluated in 23 patients with coronary heart disease. Lower-body negative pressure at -10 mm Hg, which causes selecti...

Abstract Introduction: Survival after cardiac arrest is one of the most important issues related to the safety and quality of patient care, and unexpected events such as failure to follow guidelines can endanger the patient's safety. Objective: This study aimed to determine the long-term survival after cardiopulmonary resuscitation and its predictors in patients with cardiac arrest. Materi...